Apple

You may work with the most talented people in your industry and benefit from their experience and work ethic. You will never be bored.

There are many exciting opportunities within Apple, and if you're clever and hardworking, you can work on those exciting products.

The pay is on par with contemporaries of similar size and stature. Any discrepancies can be assuaged by compensation in the form of generous RSU's and cash bonuses (distributed bi-annually).

Apple is a strict meritocracy.

The better your performance, the better your compensation and presented opportunities will be.

The company's reputation for secrecy bleeds into its culture, and there is a surprising lack of transparency not only in terms of development but management.

Your performance is entirely subjective to your immediate manager, who is not always suited to managing people. The emphasis at Apple is managing products, specifically their product.

Combined with aggressive scheduling, there can be an astounding amount of infighting and politics.

It is possible to be a pawn in these politics and have information withheld concerning product and company vision.

Work-life balance skews heavily towards work. Expect 60-hour weeks minimum during post-release lulls.

Management is focused but incredibly inauthentic and impersonal. Enough with the reality distortion fields and "The Emperor's New Clothes." Admitting mistakes isn't a weakness; it's human.

If you want employees to trust you and stay at the company, much more honesty and transparency are needed.